Amanzimtoti athletics coach ready to hurdle the coronavirus

As part of essential services during the lockdown, Amanzimtoti Athletics Club (AAC) coach, Riaan Vosloo, 45, has laid down his whistle temporarily to ensure support to the food industry.

He manages Signea Systeme’s KZN branch that does date coding and batch numbering equipment. “We sell and service the printers that print the black expiring dates you see on your milk, bread or medicine. With a lot of our customers in the food and pharmaceutical industry, we are working during lockdown, but only respond to call-outs and deliveries.”

Riaan was born in Johannesburg and did his schooling at De Deur Laerskool and Hoer Tegniese Skool in Vereeniging. He has been with AAC for about 12 years and training for 11.

“Cecil Clark is the current club coach, as he prefers road running and most club members are road runners. Our approach to coaching is that we are open to anyone, not only club members or their siblings. We have children coming from the rural areas and even one from Umlazi.

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“We have serious athletes and those just coming for improvement and fitness. We also have adults joining the group for fitness. We have never charged anyone for the coaching, but do expect them to join the club if they start competing in events.”

With many KZN schools dropping athletics at school, they sometimes refer children to the club for coaching, especially those who have come from other provinces. “What irritates me is schools in KZN not taking athletics seriously anymore, but expecting their children to perform at other sports. Athletics covers something for all shapes and sizes and not only for the fast. In other provinces athletics season starts in the fourth term and builds up to the SA championships in March the next year. All those schools’ top athletes are their top rugby, cricket, netball and hockey and players.

Also, coaches of team sports who manipulate athletes to only do their sport, not giving them the change to grow and shine their individual talents, and schools that inform learners a day or two before zonal trials and then expect them to perform. Parents then bring them to us and expect they will improve dramatically after one or two training sessions, especially in the field events and then if they don’t, treat you like you are a useless coach.

“Often parents burn their children out at the age of 11 after pushing them to perform at different sports to get a bursary at one of the big Durban high schools. Youngsters end up with crucial injuries and most quit sports during or after school, because they never had the change to enjoy it. They should let their children enjoy all different type of sports and when they are 13 or 14, decide which seasonal sport they like and are good at. That way they will keep the passion for the sport once they leave school and continue with it or start giving back to the sport by coaching.”

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At school Riaan run short distance and long distance hurdles. In the army he started road running and, at the age of 18, was the youngest at the Two Oceans Marathon. He also tackled his first Comrades that year and ended up completing 10 in a row to earn his green number. He went on to complete 11 (all between 8.28 and 9.33), four Two Oceans, Om Die Dam and Loskop ultra-marathons. He then stopped running for seven years.

After moving to Toti in 2007 from Kraaifontein for new job opportunities, he decided to do another Comrades with his neighbour, Noel Savale. That got the bug biting again and he returned to track running as a master athlete, specialising in the 400m and 400m hurdles. He received his KZN and SA colours in hurdles and his personal best is a blistering 59.87.

“I joined the KZN Masters Athletics Association for track running after years of road running and started doing track training with my friend Llewellyn van Onslen at Amanzimtoti Sports Centre. Our children started training with us and their friends started joining, where parents asked us to start coaching their children. We did the necessary ASA level one coaching course and official courses.

“I prefer track and cross-country, but can coach the basics in field events. I am also certified as a level one rugby coach and can also coach cricket, and have a small bootcamp for women training twice a week in the early mornings.
“We train Monday to Thursday throughout the year from 4.40pm to 6pm, in front of Lords and Legends. We use the cricket oval for our track training and the MTB trails for cross-country. Our biggest challenge is keeping the track marked and sharing the track with the community. Thanks to all the people who give us space when we ask them to either walk inside or further outside the track while the athletes train.”

Riaan is married to Werda and they have two sons, Ruan, 18, and Stefan, 16, and a daughter, Inge, 9.
He has coach at Toti Rugby Club since 2009 with the U6s and ended last year coaching the U16s with Louis Myburgh and Pierre du Randt. He is also assisting the senior teams with speed, agility and fitness.

He is a registered rugby referee with the Durban District Union and a member of Toti Cricket Club where he manages and play for the third team.“My hobbies are sport. I like to gym and in the athletics off-season, Warrior and Waterra type of events, running with obstacles and so on. During downtime I like to catch up on some much-needed rest.”

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